The Country Song

Somedays feel like a country song.  You know, you lose your job, your truck, and your dog?

We haven't lost our job or our truck (yet), but we are pretty close to losing our dog.  Mina has been slowing down and losing control of her back legs, which could be caused by Wobblers Disease.  In addition to that, she appears to be experiencing dilated cardiomyapthy (DCM).  This isn't a surprise; our last doberman died from a sudden heart attack and one study showed that 58% of dobermans had DCM.  Mina spent the weekend coughing and gagging.  I thought she just had a doggie vitamin stuck in her throat, but I went to a doberman forum to rule out some kind of dog virus.  I found out that the coughing and gagging is a sign of congestive heart failure.  Sure enough, Mina's heart rate is crazy fast and irregular.  She has an appointment to see a vet tomorrow.

I would take her in today, but I'm having another problem.  Shane has a bruised (or broken) hand bone (another scout threw a rock and it hit Shane over the weekend).  Ian is gone with Mark.  I can't possibly load up six kids, the strongest and most helpful with a broken hand, into a van for an undetermined wait time anywhere.  I won't even take Shane in for x-rays for that reason.  Loading Mina in the van would hurt her hips and probably give her a heart attack from panic.  She is just too high strung for a van ride to the vet.  She is better off hanging out in the backyard and chasing chickens...

...or she can just leave that to the eagle that killed one of our chickens today!  The circus just never ends!  Jack and Shane chased the eagle off, but I'm wishing the eagle could have at least finished off more of the meat.  I hate to see a killed chicken go to waste.  Jack guarded the chicken yard for at least an hour after the eagle flew off.

All this, and it is only lunchtime.

Dance!

Evie and Fiona had their end of the year dance recital last night.  I do love our little dance school!  The teacher is so mellow and really encourages each girl to do her best, no matter what her ability.  As everyone already knows, this year hasn't been our easiest.  I normally love sitting in the girls' classes and watching them learn and practice.  Last year worked out well for me because it was easier to keep Daniel busy and Lula was the baby on my lap.  This year, it was three against one so Mark usually took the girls to class.  I didn't see Evie's dance until the recital and boy, was it great!

This first video is Evie's ballet dance.  Both her dances have a patriotic theme.  When I first saw which costume her teacher picked for her class, I was a bit disappointed.  The whole point in ballet recitals is to wear the poufyest tutu and the sparklyest crown.  But a sailor suit? It's a good thing I didn't influence Evie's opinion with my own.  She loves it and plans to wear it for Halloween.  And once I saw it on her and saw her dance, I changed my mind!  I loved it!  Evie is the girl on the far left that is the first to cross to the right side of the screen:

The second (and third) video is Fiona's ballet dance.  She is the second smallest in her class because she (and two other girls) just moved up to the ages 5-7 class this year.  She is second from the right.  I had to record her dance in two parts since naughty Heidi was trying to grab the camera with her new found reaching skills!  Luckily, Mark rescued me halfway through.

Next up is Evie's tap dance.  Love, love, love her tap dance.  If I would have known that they were doing a little tappy march with salutes, I totally would have given her a little heart tattoo on her arm.  Evie has the best timing, the best rhythm, and never misses a step.  My little daughter is perfect!  She is pretty hard to spot at first, but is mostly in the center of the screen.  After the big move to a single line, she is third from the right.

Click here for Evie's dance (for some reason, I can't embed it)

Fiona had a harder time with her tap dance.  She could "feel" the ballet music and knew when to do what step, but the tap song sounded too much the same to her and she got lost a lot.  I do like, however, that when she decided to go with a routine, she did it with enthusiasm.  If she kicked, she kicked.  If she flap-tapped, she flap-tapped!  The best part (and quite possibly the most painful) was watching the girls watch each other to see what to do next.  Fiona was not the only girl to get lost, that's for sure!  I think if I ever had to torture, say, a couple of older brothers or maybe a terrorist, I would tape their eyelids open and make them watch little girls tap dance.  Just sayin' *wink*  Fiona is second from the right and sometimes gets behind the only girl shorter than her.  Heidi managed to affect the quality of this recording too, but this time with her rocking back and forth to music skills.

All in all, the night went well.  It was so nice to have my parents and sister come out and see the girls dance!  They felt so loved!  And it was awesome to have the extra hands when it came time to get Lula and Daniel out to the playground to burn off some energy along with their cousin.

Laughing Like Crazy

Hey, I'm all about hands-on theme-based activities around here, but I draw the line at bath time.  I've come across a blog that combines bath time with book-based activities, complete with special bath toys, a bath time snack, and a story read aloud.  Not to get all Mama War or anything on anyone, but story time can wait until all WATER DANGER is far, far away from precious paper pages.  And we don't eat in the bath tub.  That's just weird.

Plus, I like to reserve bath time for moments when my kids look like this:

By the time my kids look like this, we are focused purely on scrubbing and getting out so the next one can get in.  

Here is another thing that made me laugh like crazy:

 This special potty, with personal TP roll, costs $65.  For $65 I can buy 65 of these:

...which work just as well.  Don't ask how I know.  I just do, okay?  Did I mention Lula is the fastest and smartest potty trainer I've had?  If she knows she can't get all the way down the hall, she finds the next best thing.  My carpet thanks her.

Summertime

Just me and them and Wii and U.  Love summer.

Going on Vacation

Now that school is out for summer, we are headed to South America!!!

But not for real.  Maybe someday one of these kids will make it there, but for now we are just learning about South and Central America for the summer.  Summer school!  You know you've become one with your homeschool when you can't separate the school from the home.

I've spent the last two weeks (or so) coming up with my lesson plan for this unit.  The following is the Reader's Digest Version of my thought process:

Okay, South America.  I need to make sure we cover all the geography, like, everyone needs to know at least all the names of all the countries and Ian and Shane need to know the capital cities as well.  I'll get out the GeoPuzzle.  And then we need to learn all the history of the Aztecs and Maya and Inca and all that.  And read the myths and legends.  Oh gosh, and science will be awesome because we will learn all about the Amazon! Everyone can write an animal report...they can choose the jaguar, or the piranha or the poison arrow frog... we can go to the zoo for a field trip!  And I have to include some cooking and arts and crafts and I know Mark has a huge collection of South American music.  Yma Sumac for sure.  Andean flute music!  Yeah!  I can pull out all those Guatemalan table napkins that belonged to his mother.  And that stuffed llama toy.  And definitely the molas.  We have to have the molas.  Finally, all that stuff will be useful for something!  We'll color maps and flags and everyone will make a lapbook.  Or a scrapbook!  And I'll use up my scrapbook paper!  And for every single thing we learn, we will make a page for our books so that we get plenty of writing practice this summer.  Now, what order should I do things in.... country by country? Chronological order? Oh, now I'm confused.  Should we cook a dish for each country? Or do a craft for each country?

It goes on and on like this for a few days while I start checking out books and movies from the library and stressing about how I'm going to get my house clean and the toddler potty trained.  And then I start.  With no plan, just a list of goals:

• Know the country names (and capitals)
• Eat some tasty food
• Watch some interesting documentaries and also some fun movies
• Develop an appreciation of the world outside our living room without actually leaving our living room

I've also decided I am one of the students.  I can list maybe three South American countries and none of the capital cities.  So far, we've watched a travel show on Brazil and Peru, a short history movie on the Aztecs that I napped through, a National Geographic special on the Inca Rebellion, and The Road to El Dorado and UP.  I strategically placed (okay, I dumped) a bunch of random books from the library on the footstool downstairs and have caught Ian reading this book and Shane reading this book. Tonight, we are eating Chilean Porotos Granados and watching The Emperor's New Groove (which is the very first movie Mark and I ever watched together). 

Tubal Cain Mine and Buckhorn Lake

Ian is working on his hiking merit badge with his boy scout troop.  Yesterday he had a 14 mile hike along the Tubal Cain Mine trail up to Buckhorn Lake.

The picture above shows the big side hill above the Tubal Cain mines on the way to Buckhorn Lake and Marmot pass.

Of course Mark had to swim in Buckhorn Lake.  This lake is fed by snowmelt and is 35 degrees F!

Ian did a good job.  He wasn't the fastest boy on the mountain, but he wasn't the slowest either.  He is really learning how to master the art of trekking under Mark's guidance.  One of Ian's requirements for the hiking merit badge is to come up with a fitness plan to condition himself for ten mile hikes.  He happens to be working on his fitness merit badge at the same time, so he and Mark have been running a mile or two a few times a week.  Mark could see that the running has really helped Ian get into better shape and develop better endurance.  No PE class at the middle school could have done this for him.

Mark would fall behind when he would stop to photograph the flowers.  When the younger boys scratched their heads about his curious behavior, Mark was ready with the wisdom of the sages... He was, once upon a time, the boy scout who ran up ahead of the group just because he could.  But now that he is a little older, he wants to stop and smell the flowers!

Boy Scouts are supposed to always follow Leave No Trace.  One of the principles is to leave what you find.  The saying is, "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints."  So Mark brought home a virtual bouquet for his sweetheart!  (that would be me)

The picture below is really cool because it shows an avalanche chute.  Every winter, the snows come tumbling down and knock out everything in it's path.  Every summer, the greens return.

The more adventurous scouts continued hiking past Buckhorn Lake...

 ...to a B-17 crash site.  This added 900ft and over a mile to the hike (Ian called it "one helluva hill"), but it was totally worth it.

 
In January of 1952, a B-17 crashed while on a rescue mission during a blizzard.  Three of the eight people on board were killed.  Debris from the crash has been slowly disappearing over the years as hikers take souvenirs. This started an interesting discussion about whether taking small bits of the plane is "packing out trash" or disturbing a memorial site; both choices fall under Leave No Trace guidelines.  Mark observed some of the boys struggling to make the "right" choice.

Juxtaposition of a crashed war plane with the peace and serenity of the alpine wilderness.

Ian has four more 10 mile hikes and a 20 mile hike to complete before he earns his badge.  Mark is very excited to start hiking with the kids again and has been busy planning out his summer "bucket list" since their return.

Squash Face

I had no idea how much fun little girls could have with their baby sisters (and Daniel too sometimes).  Lula belongs to Evie and Heidi belongs to Fiona.  I cannot believe how cute they are.  Both older girls take Lula potty more often than I do.  They bathe their sisters (I have cute pictures of all four girls in the tub, but I won't post them) and they dress them.  Fiona gave Heidi her breakfast this morning (Squash Face).  They even put Daniel and Lula down for naps and bedtime.  Evie and Fiona have big plans for when they all share a room and when they are all grown up.  Evie plans to spend as much time chatting with Lula as I do with Ami.

Strangers tend to think that having lots of kids divides the love; there is no way one mom can give each child the attention they need.  It just goes to show that strangers don't understand that having lots siblings increases the total love available.  Sure, I could do all the bottom wiping and face scrubbing and feeding myself (meanwhile the girls would be playing the same thing in their room with their dolls), but why would I rob them of an opportunity to love on each other?  I feel kinda selfish when I tell them they can't feed the baby...like Heidi is my baby doll and they can't play with her because they might break her or something! Silly mama.

Quilt

I've been working really hard to clear out all the unnecessary stuff in the house for my summer cleaning.  Yesterday, I filled two garbage bags with stuff from Evie and Fiona's room.  Whether or not the stuff is important or not, we won't know for another two weeks.  I told the girls if they could name items that I put in the bag after two weeks, they could have it back.  The rest goes.

Not even Mark was spared this week.  He thinks I spend summer vacation sleeping in, knitting, watching the kids play video games, and staying up late.  When I dusted the back hall, I took everything that served no useful purpose and stacked it in the camping gear room.  I refuse to dust things that serve no purpose.

This morning, I started again, this time it was going to be the fireplace area.  But just like the story When You Give a Mouse a Cookie, I saw the ironing board that has been propped up against the bookshelves since last summer.  That reminded me that I couldn't put it away because I haven't finished the quilts I started for Lula and Heidi last summer.  I looked around and saw the batting, also creating clutter, and decided right then and there I was going to spend today sewing.

One quilt down, one to go...

Lula

Lula is the Stealth Bomber of the toddlers.  She silently finds trouble at every turn.  But she is also potty training!  That plus sleeping solidly through the night in her own bed makes up for every other naughty thing she does.  Last night, she told me she needed to go potty, went, and then crawled into bed and went to sleep.

Father's Day

I'm married to the greatest father in the world.  Mark has dedicated his life to raising his kids and he really is such a great dad.  I wish I got pictures of him with all the kids, but it just didn't happen today...

All Mark wanted for Father's Day was to go to the YMCA and work on his Hapkido skills. Wish granted!

Nice shirt, yes?

But he also needed the best kind of Father's Day food: Surf n Turf, just like we used to make for his dad:

Fresh picked kale from the garden...

 Saffron prawns...

 ...and STEAK!  Mmmmm....Mark is so good at sharing his presents!

Moment of Truth

If you peeked inside my life this morning, you would have found me sitting on the floor in the bathroom, crying and shaking my fist at God.  "If children are a blessing from You, Lord, then these kids aren't meant to be smart and successful.  That, or this whole blessing thing is a sham and I'm a fool to believe that I'm called to have a large family!  What am I thinking having a bunch of kids I can't properly educate or even potty train?"

Shall we go back in time to see how I got to this point? Why, of course! Let's start at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon.

I met another homeschooling mom at the YMCA.  We've chatted a few times and I sent her a friend request on Facebook, which she quickly accepted.  Her daughter was working on her spelling during Fiona and Daniel's PE class.  She was spelling words like "petrified."  Thinking about what awful spellers my kids are, I asked what grade she was in. "Second," my new friend replied.  Then I found out this girl is only six years old (almost seven), knows sign language, and also knows a bunch of Spanish thanks to Rosetta Stone.  The girl invited Fiona to her birthday party, so the mom wanted to send a text to my cell phone with the details.  I don't have a texty phone, so I suggested she send me a Facebook message.  "Are we friends on Facebook?" she asked.  Slap.  Boy did I feel rotten.  I had been reminding myself, it's not a contest...stay out of the mommy war...the girl is the oldest of three kids...not one of seven....you were like that with Ian...Ian can probably spell petrified...but there's that Facebook thing...  I still felt like I was failing my kids because they can't spell.  My girls even form some of the letters the wrong way when they do spell...another way I've failed them. Sigh.  Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided to spend some time today on spelling tests, which only were interrupted by potty emergencies...

Last night, Ian and Shane were doing their nightly ritual of fooling around before bed.  We almost never get to just send them to bed without coming back to yell at them for being noisy.  Last night's foolery ended with Ian stuffing a rock in Shane's mouth and chipping a tooth.  Seriously.  I can't make this stuff up.  I was angry enough they went straight to bed without a peep after I informed Ian he would be paying for the damage.  This morning, Shane was puffy-faced from crying and wanted to pay half because he was half responsible (note to self: this shows that I've raised a kid with a conscience and a sense of duty and not a total fool).  Ian felt so bad, he refused to get out of bed this morning.  He is still in bed, although he came out briefly to do the dishes and speak to his "teacher" under threat of grounding.  He was refusing to eat as well...

Heidi is super-attached.  Anyone who says that bottle fed babies are not as attached as breastfeeding babies hasn't met Heidi!  She cries anytime I put her down.  Heidi's tummy has pretty much settled down as long as I avoid dairy.  When I do indulge in cheesy goodness, she does start spitting up again with a little fussiness on the side.  When her tummy is bugging her, she also eats a lot more.  So she goes through a lot more diapers.  She complains when her diaper is wet, so I will take her back and change her to find out she actually had to go again.  She loves to pee when her diaper is off.  I was super annoyed to be mopping up her third puddle of the morning...

Lula is going through a major transformation.  We are hiding her binky.  She is signing like crazy and even saying a whole bunch of new words with her signs!  And just in time too, because Heidi started saying, "Ba-ba-ba!"  This morning I had to watch a Signing Time movie with her because she has a sign and I have no idea what it means.  I thought it had something to do with eating or food, so I put that show on.  Instead, I watched all these kids knowing how to set a table and say, "May I please be excused?" when they are done eating; this is something my kids have never experienced.  Parent fail.  Lula is also refusing to wear a diaper.  When I try to put one on her, she kicks and screams and pulls it off the minute I have my back turned (you know, right about the time I'm changing Heidi's diaper or wiping her spit up off my arm (and no, the pizza was not worth it)).  But when I put her on the potty, she screams and cries and acts terrified and then runs off and pees by the back door.  I'm not about to spend days and weeks fixing a fear of the potty.  I can wait to potty train her... but only if she cooperates and wears a diaper.  And that isn't happening...

If you mix up the puffy-faced boy with a chipped tooth, the preteen in his room, the crying baby left in the living room, the crying toddler on the potty, and the bad feelings about manners and spelling and Facebook, you get me crying and shaking my fist.  And praying.  Please God, help a mom out, will You?  Was I a fool? Am I a total failure?

I hear a tinkle tinkle tinkle in the potty and look up to see a BIG SMILE from Lula.

God answers prayers in the strangest ways, doesn't He?

Portfolio

Keeping up with the paper end of homeschooling five kids is so overwhelming.  I've always tried to get the kids to entertain themselves and the youngers so I can have some "alone time" with the paper piles.  But there is just. so. much. paper.

Drawings and handwriting paper and summaries and drawings and more drawings and paintings and old printables.....

I have stacking file boxes that I stuff "keepers" in so I can make a portfolio of their work over the year, but for some reason, and I have no idea what that reason might be, I never get around to actually putting the keepers away into binders.  Hmmm....I wonder what keeps distracting me...

Yesterday I had a smack-my-head moment...why not make the kids make their own portfolios???

We all had so much fun going through old projects and funny drawings and other art projects.  And hopefully they learned a little discernment on what is considered a "keeper" and what should have never been created in the first place (one little scribbled picture in the middle of a piece of a paper? Waste!)

My school room still looks like a hurricane blew through it, but I'm not setting myself up for failure...I got one little corner cleaned out.  Hooray!

The Comfort of Routine

I have tried many times to have an established routine, but my life keeps changing.  I'm getting used to having a life that constantly ebbs and flows...

Happy Birthday, Mark!

One thing I'm really enjoying is having coffee with Mark on the porch in the morning.  Mark just had a birthday and I bought him a new espresso machine!  The sun comes up earlier and earlier (and so do the roosters) this time of year, so Mark is up early, early, early.  He comes out and makes coffee and turns on the classical music.  The kids have been staying up too late at night, so they sleep until at least 9:00 AM.  I'm loving spending a few hours with just Mark and a handful of early risers (Daniel, Heidi).

I wanted her to smile, so I said "Say cheese!"  The fun of signing toddlers!

Another routine I'm (finally) getting used to is Mark taking the older four to taekwondo and leaving me at home with the three younger.  Last summer I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and watching Little House on the Prairie, but now I spend the time playing with Daniel, Lula, and Heidi.  That's why I burnt dinner tonight, by the way.

Heidi happily taking her solid foods now.  I like to feed her something right before I make dinner (or right before I eat dinner), so she doesn't bug me so much.  So far she has sampled squash, carrots, pears, green beans, and chicken.  Gerber has added these animal lids to their jars:

Cute, right? I don't know why they put animals on the lids.  Maybe so you have something to talk about while spooning yucky processed veggies into their mouths?  I've seen panda, elephant, reindeer, whale, cat, dog, horse, and even penguin.  I think it's creepy...

"I'm eating WHAT?"

...because it looks like I'm feeding Heidi pureed Panda and pureed Elephant.  And those are endangered species!